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The Mobile Neutrino Lab

The Mobile Neutrino Lab is a self-contained laboratory for the detection and characterization of neutrinos. Neutrinos are a type of subatomic particle
that has no electric charge and very little mass (it is at least 500 times lighter than an electron, but it's mass is so small that we don't yet know exactly what it is).
They interact only be the weakest nuclear force (literally known as the weak nuclear force) and as a result they can, and usually will, travel all the way through
the Earth without being affected.

What's so special about a Mobile Neutrino Lab?

Typically, neutrino detectors are massive, multi-kiloton objects (for examples see the Super Kamiokande,
Nova and IceCube detectors). The need for such large
detectors is a direct result of the neutrino's tendency to interact only rarely: the bigger your detector the more chances you have to catch one. To detect neutrinos in something
small enough to fit in a street-legal vehicle is quite a challenge. The detector inside the Mobile Neutrino Lab, known as the
MiniCHANDLER Reactor Neutrino Detector, is specially designed to be sensitive the neutrinos produced in the core of a nuclear
reactor. The neutrinos produced in a nuclear reactor's core come free-streaming out and a tiny fraction (less than one in a thousand billion billion) will interact in the detector.
Fortunately, a nuclear reactor is such a prolific source of neutrinos that even this tiny fraction gives you about 100 detected neutrons per day. At 80 kg, MiniCHANDLER will be one of the
smallest detectors to ever definitively detect neutrinos. A planned ton-scale full CANDLER detector would capture proportionally more neutrinos, and it would still be able to fit
in the Mobile Neutrino Lab. Neutrino detector mobility is a very desirable quality that allows it to be deployed for studies of multiple different types of reactors. Additionally, it opens
up the possibility of neutrino applications in areas like nuclear non-proliferation, where neutrinos could be used to detect illicit diversions of weapons-grade plutonium.

On June 15th the Mobile Neutrino Lab was deployed at the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant near Richmond, Virginia. The following short video describes the deployment and
explains how it will be used to detect neutrinos:

Did you see the Mobile Neutrino Lab out on the roads?

Tweet to @Center4NuPhys
and let us know where you saw us. We'd love to see your pictures of the Mobile Neutrino Lab out on the roads.

Or you can Follow @MobileNuLab
the Mobile Neutrino Lab for the latest updates on the lab and the CHANDLER Project.